The present invention pertains to the field of art involving the treatment and care of people having a compulsion for excessive and destructive hand-activity and a craving for ingesting unnatural articles of food and substances. The present invention relates to a garment which controls and hinders hand activity of the person wearing the garment and provides protection from self-injury.
The abnormal conditions whereby a person experiences a compulsion for excessive and destructive hand activity and a craving for eating unnatural articles of food or substances may be prominent in insane or hysterical people. The hand-activity may include the unraveling and shredding of such person's own clothes; the gathering of foreign articles or substances and putting them to the mouth for ingestion; and inserting the hands into the mouth to be sucked or bitten. The craving for eating unnatural articles or substances may lead to the ingestion of hair, wood, paper, metallic objects or even feces. These abnormal conditions may be manifested in people suffering from a condition called pica. Pica is generally defined as a craving for or eating of unnatural articles of food. It is clear that these conditions may cause serious medical problems with the individual, such as digestive and intestinal complications, and destruction of the tissue of the hand.
In an effort to protect a person suffering from such abnormal conditions one solution has been proposed. This solution involves the use of a garment, such as a shirt, whereby gloves or mittens are sewn to the cuffs of the shirt. When the modified garment is worn, the gloves or mittens act to decrease, somewhat, the dexterity of the hands and cause the person wearing the garment to experience difficulty in picking up foreign objects or substances. In addition, the gloves or mittens act to shield, to a certain extent, the tissue of the hand. However, this solution has been unsuccessful since gloves and mittens do not sufficiently hinder a person from grasping objects and substances that may be brought to the mouth and ingested. In addition, most gloves and mittens may be moistened with water or saliva to aid the person picking up objects such as paper, hair, etc. Moreover, a glove or mitten may ultimately be saturated with water or saliva causing irritation and destruction of hand tissue. Also, a glove or mitten may not sufficiently shield the hand from any biting action of the person. Further, the modified garment may be unraveled and shredded by the person.
In the past, garments and related devices have been employed to restrain certain compulsive activity in individuals. The following patents disclose devices employing some kind of hand enclosure to restrain hand activity: U.S. Patent 3,476,108 to Matuka; U.S. Patent 3,182,657 to Zurbuchen; and U.S. Patent 1,944,451 to Newman. These patented devices utilize stiffening plates or straps disposed about a hand enclosure to restrict hand activity. The devices are unsuitable for precluding an individual from unraveling and shredding the device since the plates are removable, and the straps and stitching are exposed. Further, these devices do not address the compulsive tendency to moisten the exterior surface of the hand enclosure and use it as an aid in picking up substances for ingestion. Moreover, these devices do not protect the hand tissue from long exposure to saliva or water. Further, they are uncomfortable and severly restrictive of hand movement.